NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced he has formed a working group of leaders from the executive branch, General Assembly, safety, education and mental health to immediately begin reviewing school safety in Tennessee and provide recommendations to enhance the security of school children.

While all schools in Tennessee currently have safety plans in place, the Governor’s School Safety Working Group will convene this week to review the policies, procedures and process of developing and implementing those plans, as well as other school safety measures, including communication and collaboration among law enforcement, educators and mental health professionals.

“All children in Tennessee deserve to learn in a safe and secure environment and I am asking this working group to move quickly in making practical recommendations that we can implement in the coming weeks and months to help increase the safety of our children,” Haslam said. “The review will be wide ranging but include specific items, such as entry to and exit from schools, training and availability of school resource officers, and in-school mental health resources for students.”

Haslam expects to have the first recommendations from the working group before the end of the legislative session.

The Governor’s School Safety Working Group will be chaired by Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner David Purkey and includes the following additional members:

NASHVILLE – Senate Minority Leader released the following statement Monday on the makeup of Gov. Haslam’s school safety working group:

“Not only did the governor set up a solid Republican task force on an issue where bipartisan consensus is sorely needed, he went out of his way to exclude voices who are committed to evidence-based solutions to prevent gun violence. The task force also lacks representation for Shelby County schools, the largest school system in the state. Tennessee is home to nationally recognized experts on gun violence prevention. How can we possibly protect our children if we focus only on security, but give up on preventing gun violence? The governor’s strategy is set up to fail.”

Sen. Harris is sponsoring legislation (SB 1472) this year to ban the sale of bump stocks, which were used in Las Vegas and mimic illegal assault weapons. Gov. Haslam previously said he supports the notion of a ban, but he has not been involved in any legislative efforts.

Sen. Harris is also the sponsor of legislation (SB 760) to create gun violence restraining orders in Tennessee, which have been endorsed by National Review’s David French.